Fri, Apr 19th 2024
As tensions flare in the Middle East, the Swiss stock market closes the week with notable losses.
According to reports, Israel has attacked Iran. This caused concerns about a broader Middle East conflict to flare up. Uncertainty on the financial markets is high. And recently, rising oil prices have fuelled the issue of inflation – an imminent interest rate cut in the US is being pushed back further and further.
The leading Swiss index SMI lost 0.9% to 11,128 points at around 09:35. All blue chips were trading deep in the red – with the exception of Nestlé, which was down 0.7%. Without the heavyweight’s gains, the most important Swiss stock barometer would have lost considerably more.
According to traders, the fact that the food manufacturer’s shares are rising is mainly due to the strong figures from L’Oréal. Nestlé still holds a stake in the French cosmetics group.
Meanwhile, the two technology stocks VAT (-2.4%) and Logitech (-1.2%) were among the biggest losers. The quarterly results presented so far this week by the world’s leading chip and chip equipment manufacturers have so far failed to convince, traders said. Instead, they set the tone for what could be a difficult earnings season for chip companies.
Not only the Swiss market, but also the most important European indices such as the German DAX (-1.1%), the British FTSE 100 (-0.5%) and the French CAC 40 (-0.7%) fell more or less significantly.
On the currency market, the euro/franc pair temporarily fell below the 96 centime mark, but has since recovered to 0.9670. At 0.9079, the dollar/franc pair is also higher again than at the day’s low.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic